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The house is amazingly close to the lakeshore, bringing the sandy beach practically to the doorstep.

Take it from us – renovating in cottage country can be problematic at the best of times. But factor in sub zero temperatures, ice storms and perilous road conditions, and a recipe for high drama lies ahead. Aye, saints preserve us: we’re about to face off against our mostproblematic cottage reno to date. And this time? The gloves are on: we’re turning transformative tricks… in the bleak mid winter.

That said, encumbered as we are by climate, will we fall at the first hurdle? Will we be able to turn the worst house on the best lake into a joyous holiday respite on steroids? All will be revealed. And so that you, dear readers, remain apprised, we’ve launched a new social media account across which we plan sharing every detail. Join us at www.instagram.com/colinandjustinslongbeach to celebrate our victory. Or to throw scorn upon our attempts. God only knows how this will pan out.

Anyhoo – 2018 was crazy busy. We filmed Great Canadian Cottages for Cottage Life, augmented the ‘Colin+Justin Home’ line (previously available in only Canada and The USA, it’s now muscled its way onto shelves across Australia and the UK), completed numerous client projects and delivered weekly epistles to the hallowed pages of Postmedia titles cross Canada. Which is precisely why we find ourselves in cottage country, in February, embarking upon a cabin renovation much later than planned.

But as with any project, there are two sides to the coin. Warm month (when some might consider them easier) rural renos import their own set of disadvantages: big ticket items like new kitchens, hot tubs and appliances take longer to deliver, and drivers often need encouragement to navigate dirt track roads and all manner of ‘enter at your own risk’ signage.

Whist summer might seem the perfect time for renovating, sticky temperatures lure plagues of black flies, bugs and skeeters. Sure, rewards are potentially great for the hardy rural contractor, but they gotta work hard.

But anyway. Back to winter 2019 and our intrepid ‘Long Beach’ crew led by Ed Galati from Gallory Construction Inc. and Chris Dobbins from CDH Carpentry. Together, they’ve made a monumentous start to our latest project. Concentrating first indoors, minus 26 temperatures didn’t even signify as they eviscerated floral-wallpapered walls, kinky 1980’s black whirlpool tubs (hello Joan Collins) and pale blue nylon carpet that covered every underfoot inch of this beach house beauty in the making.

First up, our demolishing duo called a local dumpster company whose experienced drivers maneuvered a road that would make the most hardened Canadian Bob Sled champion nauseous. Jeesh: did somebody say ‘glacial’? To cut a long story short, we’re already four dumpsters in, and the house is – almost – a blank canvas.

But progress hasn’t been easy. We’ve endured flash thaws followed by barometric collapse: climatic affray that normally leads to cross county power outage. Indeed one pal, who lives across the lake, just called to say he’s in the dark, desperately attempting to log onto Hydro One’s outage mapping before his iPhone bites the dust. Ouch.

Thankfully we still have power – for now – and if we have power, hey, we have saws, heating, water and the ability to use the toilet. The reality, however, is that if power goes, our water pump goes too… which would mean everyone on site having to make like a bear… and having to head for the woods. And as any Canadian gent who’s gone ‘au naturel’, when it’s minus 26, will attest – you’d better take your reading glasses with you…

All things considered (and something we’ve learned having re tooled several cabins in the past few years) local knowledge is power. And our boys have that quotient in spades. Put simply, they know what to do, and when to do it. Thanks to their prioritizing ability, we’ll have a new kitchen, a new sunroom, three new shower rooms and a bunkie, and all before summer 2019 has properly begun. Aye, the rebirth of ‘Longbeach’ is underway. And all we can say is: ‘bring it on’!

So don’t worry. All is good. We’ll deliver intermittent updates (not to mention a host of glossy before and afters) as the months pass. And, stop the press: there’ll be the chance for one of you (and a bunch of friends) to win a four-day vacay to experience our latest adventure, first hand. So get your shorts and bikinis ready, and follow the magic at www.instagram.com/colinandjustinslongbeach In the words of Nicki Minaj: ‘To the beach, beach, let’s go to the beach!” Aye, the count down to summer 2019 starts right here!

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